Loving… picture rails {decor DIY}

Yay, a blog post that isn’t about babies!

We moved into our home over 3 years ago, but it’s taken me this long to actually hang some pictures on the walls. Why? Because I have commitment issues. I love collecting prints and photos, but the thought of trying to decide on where to hang everything, and then having to hammer nails into our (old, often crumbly) plaster walls, had me paralysed. So, my beautiful collection of framed prints sat forgotten in a cupboard, until I had the thought of rather using an old-school picture rail. As usual, I headed to Pinterest for inspiration…

So, because picture rails aren’t really a common feature, it was quite difficult to track down the supplies. You’re more likely to find them on your local old-school hardware store. I managed to find everything I needed at the Do It Yourself Hardware store in Maitland. Here’s what you’ll need:

Wooden picture rail of the desired length

Paint

Electric drill

Screws

Polyfilla

Paint & paint brush

Spirit level

Pencil

Picture hooks

Picture wire

Framed pictures

The process was pretty simple. I painted the rails before hanging them, but they did need an extra coat once they were up and the screw holes were filled with polyfilla. We hung rails in both our passage and our dining room, and I’m quite happy with the results (although the borderline OCD person in me still has to come to terms with the fact that the pictures will never hang completely straight!). I particularly love how the pictures look against our blue feature wall (see here for the details of our feature wall DIY). I’ll probably also re-arrange the pictures a million times before I’m happy, but I guess that’s part of the fun!